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Published on 10/09/1995 All articles from this issue

Local author publishes 16th book

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By Carolyn Barnes

Special to the Town Crier

Los Altos Hills author Shirley Climo makes holiday gift-giving to children a delight this year. This Saturday, at 1:30 p.m., she will autograph copies of "The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb" at Heintzelman's Bookstore in downtown Los Altos. For children through age 8, the newly published book combines an introduction to 20 Spanish words with a funny, inspiring story.

Climo's long run of successful children's books (this is her 16th) can be traced to her down-to-earth knowledge of what fascinates kids.

"I reach back into my own childhood and remember what interested me," she says. "All of our modern technology hasn't changed the basics."

"The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb" not only follows a lovable "underdog" (Under-ant) as he struggles with a giant task, it introduces a cast of colorful Mexican animals, one man, and a sprinkling of simple Spanish vocabulary.

Climo has yet to meet the talented illustrator of the book, Francisco X. Mora, a native of Mexico City. "My publishers (Clarion Books, Houghton Mifflin, Harper and Row, Macmillan) pass along my completed manuscripts to artists they choose. One of my artists is a Russian who doesn't speak English, for instance, who was discovered at a European book fair."

When her youngest child was a junior in high school and Climo turned 50, she decided to resume the writing that had attracted her as a young woman. Soon travel articles led to her first children's book, based on Cornish legends gleaned while vacationing in Cornwall.

"I've never written a word for adults since," Climo laughs. "Children give such wonderful feedback-they're much more expressive than adults. I also enjoy being my own boss."

To avoid climbing the walls or talking to herself, Climo belongs to two different author's groups which meet regularly to read and criticize works in progress.

"We are people of all ages, working on everything from mysteries to magazine articles; we cross the generations and keep each other going," she says.

Climo was represented by an East Bay agent for some years, but now conducts her own negotiations with editors. She completes entire manuscripts before submission, but usually bounces ideas around with her main editor before writing a book.

"My most successful books have been "The Egyptian Cinderella" and "The Korean Cinderella," she says. "It's amazing, but there are over 700 versions, world-wide, of the Cinderella legend, and many use boys as the Cinderella figure. the idea of being magically whisked away from poverty to fortune and power is universal; every culture also wrestles with difficult step-parents and step-siblings. I think we all need to have hope that something magical and wonderful might happen, and that is what the Cinderella legend celebrates."

Climo researched all of "The Korean Cinderella" right here, in the Los altos Library, where librarians put her in touch with a Korean-born library shelver in the Gilroy branch of the Santa Clara County Library System. The shelver gave invaluable advice as Climo interpreted the ancient Korean Cinderella legend for American children.

"She was a great help to me," says Climo. "I turn to anyone at all who offers help in my research."

I t is not unusual for Climo to spend two years or more researching a book. "The writing may only take a couple of months, but often an idea has to jell for many years before I begin to write it down."

In fact, Climo cannot really say how long "The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb" percolated in her unconscious before its transformation into a lovely picturebook.

"It's based on a Mexican fable, which in turn is based on Spanish and French legends," she says. "Folklore is what I am best known for."

What's next for Climo? Four more books are under contract at the moment, including a Persian Cinderella and an Irish "Cinderlad." "And that will be the end of the Cinderella legends for me!" she predicts.

Climo will autograph copies of "The Little Red Ant and the Great Big Crumb" this Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Heintzelman's Bookstore, 205 State St., Los Altos.